Three seasons ago, the White Sox were a 93-win team with World Series aspirations. But through a series of injuries and overall decline, the club saw that win total decrease to just 61 victories in 2023. The team could be even worse this season. The Sox set a franchise record with a 14-game losing streak, dropping the team to an MLB-worst 15-48. With that winning percentage, the club is on pace for only 38 victories —which would set the MLB record for the fewest wins in a 162-campaign.

Any and everyone on the White Sox roster is on the trade block, with the most significant name being starting pitcher Garrett Crochet. The lefty is in the midst of a career year in his first year as a starter, drawing the attention of contending teams across the league. Should the White Sox decide to trade their ace, here are the two best trade destinations for Garrett Crochet.

Scouting Garrett Crochet

The 24-year-old lefty has been one of the breakout pitchers in Major League Baseball this season. Crochet pitched strictly in relief across the first few years of his career, appearing in 54 games with a 2.58 ERA in 2021 before missing 2022 after Tommy John surgery and spending part of 2023 in the minors while still recovering. The former first-round pick appeared in just 13 MLB games last year, finishing with a respectable 3.53 ERA.

After a move to the starting rotation for 2024, Crochet has proven his worth, leading MLB with 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings and carrying a 3.49 ERA across 13 starts. He struggled a bit in mid-April but reestablished since, posting a 1.03 ERA since the start of May, walking just six hitters during this stretch.

Crochet's improved command is one of the keys to his success, as he walked 4.9 hitters per nine innings before this season versus just 1.9 BB/9 in 2024. Looking more closely at the lefty's arsenal, his newly introduced cutter stands out. Crochet throws his cut fastball about 25% of the time, with opponents whiffing on it at a rate of 35.4%. The pitch has been worth six runs this year, per Baseball Savant. He also has significant success with his fastball. Thrown around half of the time, Crochet's four-seamer is worth seven runs, and opponents are batting just .150 against it. The left also employs a slider and changeup, both to lesser effect.

Garrett is under contract through 2026, with two years of salary arbitration — making him a financially affordable MLB trade deadline target.

Garrett Crochet trade destinations

Milwaukee Brewers

Injuries have decimated Milwaukee's starting pitching, with DL Hall, Wade Miley, Joe Ross, Robert Gasser, and Jakob Junis all on the Injured List. Junis is on the 60-day IL while Miley is out for the year. Tobias Harris and Bryse Wilson have stepped up admirably in their absence, but it is unlikely that either can be depended upon long-term.

11 pitchers have already made a start for Milwaukee in the season's first two months, and the situation has become so dire that Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy has put out a universal call for pitching help. “If you're in our organization right now and you're healthy and you're throwing it forward, you're being considered,” Murphy quipped earlier this week. “If you throw good from the outfield one day, you might be considered, too”

Finding dependable starters to solidify a rotation that can barely send out a healthy pitcher to take the mound will be crucial if the Brewers want to stay competitive in the NL Central. Crochet was a former Milwaukee draft pick in 2017 who decided to go to college; he could don Brewers blue for real this summer.

San Diego Padres

San Diego replaced 2023 NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell with former White Sox ace Dylan Cease this year, but the club could still use another high-level starting pitcher — especially with Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove on the IL. Both players are already on their second IL stints this season. While knuckleballer Matt Waldron and reliever-turned-starter Michael King have provided solid outings, neither has played a full season in the Majors as a starter.

The Padres have already been aggressive in the trade market, acquiring Dylan Cease in the offseason and infielder Luis Arraez in May. A third blockbuster trade to acquire Garrett Crochet is not out of the question for a team aggressively pursuing a first World Series title.